Chapter 1 study questions

1. How does nick describe himself at the beginning of the book?

At the beginning of the book nick begins to tell how he is different from other people that because he holds his tongue because of his wealth he has more than others. The way that his father has taught him to be around other people who are below him, and nick follows his father sense of being better than others and he is how all should be and he wants to keep that status.

2. Why has nick come to the east?
Nick came to the east because after WW1 he return home and was tired of it so he wanted more than it to be more powerful with money so he went east to learn how to be in the bond business, it would satisfied his family as friends, while making in the world. In order to make it e would have to move to the city.
3. How does nick describe Tom Buchanan?

Nick tells that Tom Buchanan is one of those people that spend money as simply breathing air, he has always been rich and he believes that he will always be rich. Nick said that Tom not only an attractive individual but a person that was so good at what he did that he had reached the top only at twenty-one, he was already at the top with football in college a tough looking guy with a voice to follow.

4. Who is Jordan Baker? What does Nick find appealing about her?

Jordan Baker is Daisy, nick’s cousin, friend she plays professional golf. What nick mentions is that Jordan seems to a mysterious person that does not seem to show much interest in what is happening around her and an attractive women.

5. How does daisy react to the phone calls from Tom’s woman in New York??

Daisy acts surprise and nervous, as she hurries after tom when he goes to answer the found. After an argument in another room both tom and daisy return and act as if nothing had happened.

6. What is Gatsby doing when nick first sees him?

Gatsby is standing and looking at the stars from his lawn, and then he reaches for the water in a curious way that he was almost trembling.
7. Notice how many times Fitzgerald uses the words hope, or dream. Why does he do this?

The reason Fitzgerald keeps on mentioning hope or dreams is because it is a way to personified what are his dreams and what he wish to accomplish. That he represents these characters as what his life is and all he wish to accomplish and did or did not.

8. Pay attention to time. What is the day and year during the first scene at Daisy’s house?

It was the summer time of 1918 when nick first goes to Daisy’s house.

9. Describe nick. What facts do you know about him, and what do you infer about him? What kind of a narrator do you think he will be?

Nick is the narrator of the story he is a young man in his twenties who is from Minnesota. He has a wealthy family in so he attended new haven and then went to World War 1, later he moves to west egg in New York City to learn the bond business. Nick probably will be the person that gets reason into daisy and have an interesting relationship with Gatsby. The way that he will tell the story is that in a calming tone with reason behind what he tells, a way where he is mysterious in telling in his point of view on how things happened.

10. What image does the author use to describe Jordan maker? What does it mean?

The way nick describes Jordan is a very masculine woman the way he says that she is” slender small breasted girl with an erect carriage”, also like a cadet. This probably has to do with her personality of a strong woman that is trying to make it in a man’s world. With women recently being liberated she feels that she can do what a man a can. The author tries to get that image of her to see how her personality is like her appearance.







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Chapter 2 study questions

1. How does Nick meet Tom’s mistress?

Tom takes nick with him onto New York, to George Wilson’s garage to talk about his car. In the garage is George wife Myrtle, Tom’s mistress, which Tom introduces to Nick.

2. How does Myrtle react to Tom’s arrival?

She seems to act like she is happy to see Tom and fell as if she is all that with a snobbish attitude.

3. Describe George Wilson .How does he react to Tom’s arrive?

George Wilson is a working man who is trying to make a living but a less than confident person who seems to be not truly there. When Tom arrives he seems all shaken up and nervous, in disbelieve that he is there.

4. How does Myrtle behave as the party progresses?

Myrtle attitude changes from a person with life and vitality, to someone with arrogance, laugthing around making everyone seem like they are nothing compare to her.

5. What, according to Catherine, has Tom not left Daisy to marry myrtle.

The reason that Catherine believes that Tom has not divorce Daisy is because Daisy is a catholic and it will go against her religion to divorce.

6. Why did Tom break myrtle’s nose? How is this consistent with the author’s description of him in chapter 1? Judging by his treatment of myrtle and his wife Daisy, what seems to be Tom’s attitude toward women?

Myrtle was getting drunk at the party shouting about her new puppy and then she mentions Daisy. Tom tells her not to say his wife’s name but instead she is now chanting it and Tom full of range, breaks her nose. This shows that Tom’s body is a “cruel body”, and he had the appearance of “always leaning aggressively forward” this shows of his appearance of an aggressive person is true. Tom has the idea that clearly men are better than women and he has the right to make them do what he wishes, that they are there to serve him.

7. Describe the “valley of ashes”. What does it look like and what does it represent?

The valley of ashes is a poor land where there is industrial dumping, and all dump of the city is at where the air is dirty with pollution and dying land. The valleys of ashes represent the core of west and east egg where behind all this richness and glamour is a dirty place that is dying. That represents the ugly side of the beautiful land of east and west egg, for example the people.

8. Describe mr.wilson and myrtle. Do they seem to fit into the setting?

Mr.wilson a very unconfident man who has no life in him, opposite to him is myrtle who if full of life and does not want to waste it, she is filled with arrogance.
Mr.wilson does not seem to belong there while myrtle does she is a sneaking person who wants only the best as in money or social statues in the big city were everyone is moving around with life and goals. Mr. Wilson seems like a honest hard working men who is trying to make a living for himself.

9. What more have you learned about Nick in this chapter? Is he similar or different than the people he spends his time with?

In this chapter is seems that nick is not into drinking and cares what people think of him in the way that he wants to fit in with others. Nick is not like all the people who he is around with, they all seem, selfish people who want nothing more than power and will do whatever to get it and have no respect for others even their own husband/wife. While nick seems to be interested in making money he seems to show respect and decency towers other people.

10. Describe the violent act Tom committed against myrtle. What does this reveal about him?

This shows that Tom has an anger issue where if he does not get what e wants he will use his strength and power to do so. Also it shows how little he thinks of woman.







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Chapter 3 study questions

1. Why does Gatsby throw huge, expensive parties foe people he does not even know?

Gatsby wants everyone to have a good impression of him. There are rumors that he is a bad person that killed someone, so he does not want to people to have that image of him. Also he wants to show how much money he has to impress people.

2. Describe the two ways in which Nick differs from the other guests at the party?

Nick was actually looking for Gatsby, the host, while everyone looked at him with a strange look when he ask about Gatsby. Most of the people were not even invited to him party unlike nick. The people there were talking bad about Gatsby in his own house and did whatever they wanted, like getting really drunk to act crazy. Nick never actually participated in the other people’s conversations about Gatsby.

3. What does the owl-eyed man find extraordinary about the books in Gatsby’s library?

The man in the library was really amazed about the fact that the books were actually real, meaning that they have pages with word in them.

4. Why does the owl-eyed man describe Gatsby as a real Belasco?

The owl-eye man thought, like a lot of people, that Gatsby with the big parties he throws must be a person that more interested in having a good time rather than learning and reading good literature. And when seeing all these books it was a shocker on how different he is than what people expected, like him the owl-eye man.

5. What is the significance of the owl eyed man?

The point to the owl eyed man is to represent that there is another side to Gatsby that many people are not aware of. It is to expand the character to learn more about what type of person he is, and to show how people have the wrong image of him.

6. What does the reaction of the drivers of the wrecked automobile suggest about the values of Gatsby guest?

The guests at Gatsby party seem to see the crash of the car so curious, it was expected to be a reaction of rage or shock and try to help. This shows how little the driver is very drunk and thinks the car is just out of gas. He seems to think that this is nothing really nothing. That shows how these people are spoil, that a wrecked car is nothing.

7. What does Nick learn about Jordan after he’s spent some time with her?

Nick learns that Jordan does not like to be around smart men who can outsmart her in tricking her or something like that. Also that she was accused of cheating in a golf tournament. That Jordan lies about a lot of things about her personality, and the way she is.

8. What is the significance of Jordan’s lies?
Nick says that she does this because she does not like to be a disadvantage with other people. Also that she is not an honest person in the way she keeps a cool act, yet there is more to her where she is not such a good person, where she always gets what she wants. Behind a person that does not seem to care about anything, is someone who does care that she gets the best for herself.

9. Pay attention to Nick’s judgments. What do they reveal about his character that he does this (especially in relation to his opening comments)?

Nick makes statements of people attending Gatsby mansion, and Gatsby party in a way where he kind of making fun of them. He says that all these things were happening for example “eight servants including an extra gardener toiled all day with mops and scrubbing brushes…” nick in other words is saying how much effort was put into this party. Also about the guest on how hard they try to be the “thing” at the party. This shows that Nick is a judgmental person in the way that he feels sorry for these people on their way of living and how bad they are. He always says what is wrong with everyone, but he keeps it to himself instead of telling the people face to face.

10. Describe Gatsby the first time Nick sees him.

He is a middle age man, who is sitting next to a young girl and laughing, Gatsby is an Englishman with a very interesting smile, a man who was also in the war like Nick. Gatsby is a friendly person who even invites nick on a ride on his plane. He is a very happy person, even when Nick says he finds his party weird, because he cannot find the host. Also he is a mysterious person, who gets weird calls but polite to everyone.







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Chapter 5 study questions

1. What does Gatsby offer Nick in return for Nick’s cooperation in inviting Daisy to is house?

Gatsby is offering Nick a job, from a side business he has. He offers him an opportunity to make more money; also he wants to cut Nick lawn. In other words he wants to pay nick for inviting Daisy.

2. What is the meeting between Gatsby and Daisy like initially?

At first the meeting between Gatsby and Daisy is really awkward and nerve-racking. Where Gatsby and Daisy are just staring at each other and Nick is watching them.

3. How are daisy and Gatsby different when Nick returns to the house after a half an hour?

When nick returns Gatsby and Daisy are really over joy with happiness. Daisy has tears of delight in her eyes. Also it is said that Gatsby is almost glowing with joy.

4. What are Gatsby’s feelings by the end of the chapter?

By the end of the chapter, Gatsby is in love and full of hope, and joy to the fact that he is again with his love, daisy.

5. What does Gatsby reply when nick asks him how he makes his money? Why does nick find that significant?

When nick ask Gatsby where does he get his money, Gatsby just automatically says that is none of your business, “that is my affair”. Nick is seeing that Gatsby is hiding something, that all that he told about himself is a lie and now cannot keep up with his lies. That he must be doing something wrong if he cannot tell the truth.

6. Why do you think Daisy sobs when Gatsby shows her his shirts?

Daisy is crying when she looks at Gatsby shirts because she is overwhelmed about how rich Gatsby is now. Gatsby said that his shirts are imported from England, so they are expensive, and daisy knows this cries on how Gatsby finally has money so they could be together.
7. What is the weather like in this chapter? How does it reflect the emotional climate of Gatsby and Daisy?

In this chapter there is a rough weather where there is a lot of rain, heavy rain, afterwards there is sunlight. This shows how daisy and Gatsby must have felt when seeing each other after such a long time. How they both must of felt that pain again, when they lost each other, and how after all that pain there is sunlight at the end, they are both reunited once more.

8. In this chapter, Gatsby’s dream seems to be fulfilled. What indications are there
That reality cannot satisfy his dream?

When Gatsby is finally with daisy he thinks that all his dreams have come true, but there is the reality that daisy is still married and that she will not just leave tom for him. Even with all his money is not enough for daisy to be with him out in the open.

9. Why does Gatsby deliver so may goods and services to Nick’s house?

Gatsby wants to show his gratitude to nick by doing him favors and fixing up his home. But also mostly Gatsby just wants to impress daisy on how he is rich now that it was him that did all this things, cut the grass, the tea set, for her and that he can afford to spoil her now.

10.Describe the effect of rain on the plot.

The rain was a way to emphasize on the emotions happening between Gatsby and daisy. Also the rain shows how their force to remain inside, so there is no way of avoiding each other, daisy and Gatsby might have felt awkward but could not run away from that. There is also the fact that because of the rain Gatsby and daisy could not go to her house, which could have cause early trouble for Gatsby in destroying his dreams and hopes.







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Chapter 6 study questions

1. When does James Gatz change his name? Why?

James Gatz was 17 years old when he decided that he wanted to be known as Jay Gatsby. James wanted t start a new life, because he was tired of being a poor worker he wanted to change his life style and his name to go along with it

2. What is Daisy’s real response to the party, according to nick?

According to nick daisy does not care for the party and she is not happy at all. She does not like these types of people, from west egg. The only real good time she had was when she got to be alone with Gatsby.

3. What does Gatsby tell nick he wants Daisy to do?

Gatsby wants for Daisy to leave tom for him. He wants the relationship between him and daisy to be the way it used to be in the past when he first fell in love with her.

4. Plato held that reality was an imperfect reflection of an ideal, permanent real. With this in mind, what would you say Nick means when he says, “jay Gatsby sprang from his platonic conception of himself”?

It is being said that Gatsby has had this dream of having daisy for so long and now that it is reality his dream his over. Gatsby has this idea that Daisy is the same person from the past and that Gatsby has the idea that things will go back to be that way, but in reality that cannot happened.

5. What is ironic about Dan Cody?

Dan Cody had everything that anyone could want but was still a heavy drinking and because he let a bad women into his life he ended up dying and not Gatsby not getting any money. Even if Gatsby was careful about drinking in the end because he let a bad woman into his life, he too died.

6. What parallel is suggested by the fact that Gatsby never gets the inheritance bequeathed to him by Cody?

The fact that even with all his money people from east egg will not accept him. If he had gotten that money things could have been different for him in relation with Daisy, because there could have been a chance that daisy would have left tom for Gatsby.

7. How truthful was Gatsby when he relayed the story of his life to Nick? Why does Fitzgerald tell the story of Jay Gats now?

Gatsby was making up things about his life and lying at first; but, then he goes on to the whole real truth about his life. Fitzgerald wants to get the point across of who really Gatsby is and the motives of his actions. After so much build up on how is a spoil rich person who has many bad secrets, it is said on how really Gatsby is just a normal man in love.

8. Describe the meeting of tom and Gatsby. What does this meeting reveal about them?

Tom was at Gatsby house with a couple, who had just come back from horse riding. Tom with the couple was really rude in the way that Tom is just better than Gatsby in every way, that Gatsby lacks social class and grace. This shows that they are not afraid to face each other for daisy.

9. Why did Daisy and Tom find Gatsby’s party loathsome?

Daisy and Tom are used to being around “old money”; people from east egg whose family always been rich. They feel that they are better than this people; even if they have more money than them they are still not good as they are. They see this entire people as ordinary people who are just lucky they have money.

10.How did Gatsby measure the success of his party?

All that Gatsby though about was if Daisy was having a good time or not. If Daisy was not happy than he fail at his party. He saw that daisy did not like this people and was bored so he was not happy about his party.








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Chapter 7 study questions

1. Why does Gatsby stop giving parties?
Gatsby has finally found daisy and is with her a lot. The only reason that he was throwing parties is to find out if anybody knew her, or where to find her. Know that Gatsby has found her there is no need to throw parties.

2. When does Tom first realize that Daisy loves Gatsby?

Nick goes over to Daisy house for lunch there he sees Gatsby and Jordan with Daisy. Both Daisy and Gatsby stare at each other with a passion, with tom standing right there; that then he realize what Daisy is in love with Gatsby.

3. Why is myrtle Wilson upset when she sees tom with Jordan?

Myrtle has never meet daisy and has no idea what tom’s wife looks like; so she just assumes that Jordan is tom’s wife. She is very upset about this.

4. Why does Gatsby view daisy’s child with surprise?

Gatsby has still not realized that after he left for the war she has moved on with her life. Daisy has gotten marry and had a child, Gatsby though that this whole time she was just waiting for him. And that the marriage to tom was not even serious.

5. Why does Gatsby object to letting Tom drive his car?

Gatsby’s car is much more impressive that tom’s and unique, so he wants to show it off to daisy to show her he is the better man. Gatsby wants to spen more alone time with daisy as well.

6. What ironic situation is occurring on the drive to town?

The fact that Tom just realize that his wife is cheating on her with a other men, and that he is right in front of him this whole time. Wilson has also realize that his wife has been cheating on him, and its tom someone who is right in front of him.
7. What is the significance of “blocks” Biloxi?

The memory daisy has of her wedding is that Biloxi fainted and that he stay with her family and right after her father died. The fact that nobody actually knew him, but he seem to know daisy, seem to be a connection in which daisy father could have be involve in some sort of “under the table” business.

8. Why is nick pleased with Gatsby’s honesty about oxford?

Tom keeps on saying that Gatsby is not a man to be trusted with all his lies. Then Gatsby admits to it and reveals the truth; so nick is thinking that Gatsby can be trusted because he is able to say the truth.

9. What has increased tom’s hatred of Gatsby?

When driving back home tom notices a lot of people at Wilsons; which he later finds out that it is because myrtle has died. She was run over by a yellow car, Gatsby car; also Wilson thinks its tom’s doing so that makes it even worse. Tom hates Gatsby even more know, he ran over his lover and made him take the blame.

10. Why does tom refer to the liaison between daisy and Gatsby in terms of intermarriage?

Tom knows that daisy is a catholic and Gatsby is not, and that they could never be together. Also he also refers that daisy has always been rich “old money” and Gatsby is “new money” to him that is a completely different race and daisy will never be with Gatsby.








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“The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History”

     In the essay “The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History” by Jennifer price; the author is very implicit on her idea and point of view on the topic on the United States culture. The idea is that the U.S.A‘s culture is very pompous, this is shown by her view on how Americans are so worry with their image that is been seen by society. Price uses many writing techniques to express her view on United States culture, by the usage of diction, symbolism, and tone Price is able to convey her analysis on the greed and the corruption occurring in the American culture.

     Just looking at the title the reader already gets the point across that the author is going to be using a sarcastic and ironic tone in her writing; “The Plastic Pink Flamingo : A Natural History.” The flamingo is plastic while” natural” may implied that is naturally made, while a plastic flamingo is actually manmade showing how ironic the title is.  The reader gets another taste of her sarcastic tone with the first two sentences of the essay; “first, it was a flamingo”. As if the italics weren’t enough to notice her sarcastic tone on making such an obvious comment, as if a pink flamingo could be anything but a flamingo. It is quite evident that price did this on purpose she wanted to be sarcastic to show her point on how a simple thing as a flamingo can become the symbol of wealth in the eyes of Americans. The author continues with using more irony in her work by actually saying that something Americans did was ironic. “This was a little ironic, since Americans had hunted flamingos to extinction in Florida…”  what price is saying is that once Americans wanted flamingos for their meat, fast-forward  a hundred years now the flamingo is almost being worship by the way it is use all across the nation “In the 1950s, namesake Flamingo motels, restaurants, and lounges cropped up across the country…”.The authors finds it ironic how Americans change their ideas about something that was once meaningless into something that everyone must have as soon as it is “cool” enough. This shows how price thinks that the American culture norm is to follow what everyone is doing or what everyone is buying even if it was just once meat.

     “When the pink flamingo splashed into the fifties…” notice on how the pink flamingo didn’t walk, went in, or dip into the fifties, no it “splash”, the hotel was not just nice it was “grand”, the author is using such playful and lighthearted diction to show how in a way she is making fun of American culture, by not taking it very seriously. “In the 1910s and 1920s, Miami Beach ‘s first grand hotel, the Flamingo, had made the bird synonymous with wealth and pizzazz…” at this point the author makes the flamingo a symbol representing wealth. The author wants to get the point that the only reason the pink flamingo was bought all over  was just because it was a way Americans use to show off their wealth as riches and having a good status is incredibly important in the culture of Americans. “Back in New Jersey, the union products flamingo inscribed one’s lawn emphatically with Florida’s cachet of leisure and extravagance”. The reason for taking a flamingo back to their homeland was to show to their neighbor’s naked lawns that they had wealth, they had visited Florida and that they were somehow with that symbol of wealth better than the rest. The wealth represented by the flamingo was not just for the prosperous anymore, no everyone wanted to be part of the action, “…the new interstates would draw working-class tourist down, too”. The essay stared with the grand hotel attracting the rich, but that was not good enough everyone has to follow what the rich did in the American society and like a pack follow the rich down to Florida and purchase a pink flamingo of their own. 

     An American in its natural habitat has the tendency to be pull by the corruption within the United States; as stated in the essay the flamingo may symbolize wealth, but Las Vegas symbolizes corruption and instant riches, the only sensible thing to do is to put both together.“… Las Vegas the flamboyant oasis of instant riches that the gangster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel had conjured from the desert in 1946 with his Flamingo Hotel. The American way is to get rich and get rich fast, the author makes a reference to a historic American person to display on how the American culture is that Americans would fall under the corruption of others just to be prosperous with money, to keep up with the high class people and having a good appearance. Price proceeds with more sarcasm in her tone as she makes another clear statement that a pink flamingos are bold also because they are pink, as if that is not obvious already, that flamingos are pink; “and the flamingo was pink-a second and commensurate claim to boldness”. The importance of a flamingo being pink isn’t just important because price says it is, but also because Tom Wolfe and Karal Ann Marling did. “…which Tom Wolfe called the new electrochemical pastels of the Florida littoral…”.”And as Karal Ann Marling has written, the sassy pinks were the hottest color of the decade”. The author is now appealing to ethos and looking to show that both these important people agree with the idea that pink is an important factor to the pink flamingo popularity. Price is sure that just because a celebrity is into something everyone would copy and would want to be like them;”… Elvis Presley bought a pink Cadillac”. Soon after this everyone wanted everything to do with the color pink, “washing machines, cars, and kitchen counters proliferated in passion pink, sunset pink, and Bermuda pink”. Like a wildfire everyone wants to keep status and up to date with the latest things in American society with price suggest is what the United States culture is all about. The sarcastic tone continues on with the finals paragraph of the essay, “why, after all, call the birds pink flamingos- as if they could be blue or green?”, the author wants to say on how Americans emphasize the color of the flamingo when in reality there is really no reason to do so, the color plays an important part in making the flamingo significant part in why it is trendy and stand out.   “The plastic flamingo is a hotter pink than a real flamingo, and even a real flamingo is brighter than anything else around it”, price points out on how Americans have the tendency to exaggerate things to a point where there was no real need to do so; the flamingo stands out enough the color that it is, but it is not enough for Americans they had to go and make the bird even brighter so it can stand out even more. It is never enough in the eyes of an American their society has to demand more and people are there to do whatever it takes to make sure that they are always the wealthiest.

     The pink flamingo is not limited to the United States the pink flamingo is admire by many people all over the world by its distinct features that make this bird special. Weather it is by Christians, in Egypt, or Mexico the pink flamingo makes way into different cultures. It was no wonder the United States has the urge to copy these people and adapt the pink flamingo as their own.  The United States culture is to be the best and that if anywhere else people are enjoying something they want part of this as well. 

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